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Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close

Posted by the omega man

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Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #1
the omega man phil wilkins staffordshire, United Kingdom 1973 MG MGB GT	Posted: August 18, 2012 03:51PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,733

Looking through car mags on holiday last week,came across this artical.
Poor quality picture but this guy is close to 3,000,000 miles on the clock.My B has 82,000 so I reckon he must have lived in his car to do that many.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #2
saanich2006 Robert Browning Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 1973 MG MGB	Posted: August 18, 2012 03:59PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 1,821

I always wonder about it when they say they have 3,000,000 miles or km.

Does it really count when they have put in two or three new motors and half a dozen transmissions, etc.

I think it should be recorded as the car has "x" number miles on it with all the original or "main original" parts.

"He had delusions of adequacy."

Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #3
archovist Edward B Columbia, USA	Posted: August 18, 2012 04:19PM Registered: 10 months ago Posts: 22

Actually, that Volvo P1800 is almost completely original. The engine has been rebuilt twice, but other than that just regular oil changes etc.

1977 MGB rust bucket, "Scribbles"

1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #4
Jack Long Forest Hill, Maryland, USA 1955 MG TF 1500 "Harriet" 1974 MG MGB "Lucy"	Posted: August 18, 2012 04:33PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 3,925

In reply to # 2148731 by archovist Actually, that Volvo P1800 is almost completely original. The engine has been rebuilt twice, but other than that just regular oil changes etc.

Yes, it was at Carlisle a couple years ago and is amazingly original. The owner is a New York school teacher who spent every summer just driving it around America. Proof that the more you drive 'em the better they run.

Makes my GT with 220,000 miles seem a real slacker.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #5
John Davis SE Pa., USA 1974 MG MGB GT V6 Conversion	Posted: August 18, 2012 04:45PM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 2,004

I can vouch for the mileage on Jacks GT. I purchased it from a fellow that brought it from Sun City Ca. and had the car for a number of years. He said he had changed the bearings nothing else major. I later sold it to jack. He nor I could believe the mileage, but the PO swore it was correct.
John

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #6
mgv8glen Glenn Towery Dover De., USA	Posted: August 18, 2012 06:12PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 2,370

I have a 72 G.T. that had 92,000 miles on it when I got her in 82, put a new engine in her & ran that motor over 200,000 miles (4 sets of lifters). Put in another engin in & have run it over 50,000 more miles, is now in need or a total rebuild. Built a 74 G.T. with a Rover 4.2, the car had 123,000 miles on her & I have put 275,000 more on her, = 398,000 on her. And there is the FIRST V-8 I built 30 years ago. Put in the Rover 3500 at 103,000 miles, today she has 572,6?? miles. Next Aug. the tag runs out & I will not renew the tag. Will get her first ground up rebuild. We went camping last month & this is the way we went. The Triumph under the sleeping bag I got my M C lic. on in 71 & she now has 80,000 miles on her.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #7
oldredsel Rick Crosby South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA 1959 Ford Country Sedan "Edsel Villager Station Wagon" 1969 MG MGB GT "Emma" 1997 Dodge Neon 2003 Chevrolet S10 2011 Subaru Forester	Posted: August 18, 2012 07:07PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,821

My Sprite Mk III (1098, 10CC) had 250,000 miles (including autocrosses, solos, and TSD rallies) on its original engine. . . but I did rebuild it 3 times during those miles. winking smiley

Cheers,

Rick

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #8
DrewM Drew Maddock 74 MGB roadster, Southern California, USA	Posted: August 18, 2012 08:00PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 5,639

Volvos had strong engines using thick iron and using generally good components, just like the gauge of steel used in Volvo bodies, the kind you'd need to get through brutal Swedish winters. It's one of the main reasons Volvos last a long time. Lots of old Volvos from that era, both 1800s, Amazons, and 240s, go hundreds of thousands of miles. A half million isn't very common, but not all that rare, either. Three million is pretty outrageous, but it's genuine mileage, so a million wouldn't be impossible either. There's some old Mercedes which have done a million miles, too. According to Mercedes ads, anyway.

Nothing bad to say about MGBs which can also last for decades, but they need more care than old Volvos. If a Volvo 1800 or 240 series engine could run up to a few hundred thousand miles with minimal maintenance except for oil changes, etc., an MGB needs to get more care than that. Regular oil changes is the minimum, but some parts will fail (probably not the transmission, though), and the engine is likely to need a basic rebuild by 100K miles or somewhere around there, though they could go well beyond that. Probably depends on driving style, where they're parked, how often fluids are changed, whether they're driven enough so the engine heats up, and other factories. The proverbial "secretary's car" which is driven only short distances and does't get the oil changed will die much sooner. Still, there's no reason an MGB engine couldn't go well beyond 100K miles if well cared for, and rebuilding it isn't so expensive compared to a lot of other "classic" cars.

But, for longevity, I'd take old Volvos any day. Some cars are delicate like Alfas and Fiats, some are heavy and tough like a lot of old V8 American cars and these Volvos) and some are in between. I'd put MGB in between. Wonder if you could put one of these old B18 engines in an MGB and run it up to a million miles? Nah, probably not. They do both use SU carbs, and the engines do sort of look alike, though. Now there's an interesting project.

Drew Maddock
Pasadena, California

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #9
favedave David Church Saint Joseph, MO, USA 1967 MG MGB GT "Marilyn" 1995 Ford Probe 1995 Ford Probe "The Probe"	Posted: August 19, 2012 02:28AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,872

I don't know how many miles are on my B's motor. But I reckon that B engines get rebuilt with new main and rod bearings and rings about every 60,000 miles.

My dad was very meticulous about his P 1800. Yet he blew a head gasket at about 70,000 miles. Had to have extensive engine work done and the cracked head fixed. He was exceptionally disappointed because prior to that he lived and breathed all of Volvo's ad hype about longetivity.

I have as my daily driver (which in my job is often over a hundred miles over everything from interstates to dirt roads) a 1995 Probe GT.
The Probe died as a Ford model line in 1997, in large part due to Ford's insane parts and repair pricing and the car's deeply flawed ignition system. My Probe GT now has 233,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. Neither has had any work done on them other than oil changes and replacing the timing belt about every 60,000 and the clutch and water pump at 180,000. The oil pressure and water temps remain in the normal range and the car still runs like a scalded dog. Ocassionally the distributor simply drops dead. But I have a lifetime warrantee on it at Autozone and as luck would have it the distributor is the easiest thing to replace on the entire car.

True longetivity should be measured by how many miles they go before having to have internal parts replaced or catastrophic failure. In that regard, I had a Hyundai shirt box sedan which had 250,000 miles on it when I bought it for 400 bucks and drove for another 50,000 before the motor mounts broke and dropped the enging and trans onto the axles, preventing forward motion.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #10
ErnieY Ernie Y Nr Cahors, France 1970 MG MGB 1976 MG MGB GT 1978 MG MGB	Posted: August 19, 2012 04:23AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 3,061

In reply to # 2148990 by favedave But I reckon that B engines get rebuilt with new main and rod bearings and rings about every 60,000 miles.

No idea where you get that from ?

My 76 GT has done 300,000 miles on one 20thou rebore and one set of shells, and that was over 220,000 miles ago. According to your theory then I should be approaching my 4th rebuild yet my engine still burns nothing and pumps 75lb's pressure hot !

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #11
the omega man phil wilkins staffordshire, United Kingdom 1973 MG MGB GT	Posted: August 19, 2012 05:49AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,733

Ernie,i reckon you could have the record on here for the B with most miles.Gonna have to think up a prize.Maybe the vendors could all chip in and come up with something,ha.ha.
But you must admit,this guy with 10 x your mileage really takes the biscuit.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #12
ron neal Coastal, South Carolina, USA 1962 MG MGA MkII 1968 MG MGC 1969 MG MGC 1969 MG MGC 1969 MG MGC GT → more	Posted: August 19, 2012 06:47AM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 3,329

I have over 250,000 miles on my MGC. I did freshen it up in 1984 with bearings, rings, basic valve job at 84,000 miles and installed triple carbs and headers. Still running strong but getting time for a take down and restoration. I have not needed to adjust the carbs in years. Hydraulics and suspension need some attention so you know what happens next, yeah its all over the garage floor.

No where near a record but I bought the car 8 years before my daughter was born and she drove it her senior year in high school. Now she wants me to restore her car so its in the line up.

As an only child they are all hers. LOL

Ron

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #13
ErnieY Ernie Y Nr Cahors, France 1970 MG MGB 1976 MG MGB GT 1978 MG MGB	Posted: August 19, 2012 07:44AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 3,061

In reply to # 2149008 by the omega man Ernie,I reckon you could have the record on here for the B with most miles.

I very much doubt it Phil but it would be interesting to find out what sort of mileages people have managed on original engines or those with with such relatively minor intervention or at least on a standard crank, 300k might well be some sort of a record there. Miles on the clock only tells part of the story of course, according to that my GT has only done 5000 miles !

For the record my gearbox and OD are untouched and have done the full 300,005 miles.

In UK I used to sometimes argue with my MOT man about the mileage as despite the fact that it was my regular place and that I could show him all the previous MOT's proving that there was a 1 or later a 2 in front he said that he was only allowed to put down what the mileometer actually said so essentially he was putting down a false figure taking 100,000 then 200,000 off the car - and he knew it !

If I'd done that to get a better price if selling I'd have likely been prosecuted for it confused smiley

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #14
favedave David Church Saint Joseph, MO, USA 1967 MG MGB GT "Marilyn" 1995 Ford Probe 1995 Ford Probe "The Probe"	Posted: August 19, 2012 07:49AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,872

I get that (60,000) from the fact that so many Bs were taken off the road, for years with no provision for long term storage and usually get rebuilt by the new owner. That is my experience with the 3 I've purchased. They were somewhere near 60,000 when acquired and needed refreshing because oil pressure was around 20 lbs at 3000 rpm or frozen or not assembled. My other LBCs tended to be the same way. So how far can they go from rebuild to rebuild? I have not got a clue. Glad yours is running so strong so long.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #15
ErnieY Ernie Y Nr Cahors, France 1970 MG MGB 1976 MG MGB GT 1978 MG MGB	Posted: August 19, 2012 08:43AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 3,061

With respect David buying restoration projects or 'dooer uppers' with a cloudy or completely unknown history is not quite the same as suggesting that 60k is the nominal life of a B engine winking smiley

My roadster has definitely not had the most meticulous of care during it's 36 years and 6 previous owners but I do happen to know that the engine and gearbox are untouched and that the 98k miles showing when I bought it was genuine.

I've broken cars with those sort of mileages, and more, with engines dirty and grubby enough to be able to say with a fair degree of certainty that they have never been refurbished, and after cleaning and testing have happily sold them on with a money back guarantee - I never had one come back.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #16
Thurlowb Brad Thurlow Vancouver, Canada 1975 Triumph TR6 1977 MG MGB MkIV	Posted: August 19, 2012 06:33PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 277

91,000 miles on mine. No significant engine work so far...

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #17
LittleBritishCar Rick Anderson Napa, California, USA 1966 MG 1100 "Julia" 1975 MG MGB "Chiquita"	Posted: August 19, 2012 06:58PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 853

My 1988 VW GTI had 385,000 miles when I sold it in 1999. The last I heard, it had just under 450,000 miles when it was totaled in an accident. Those old 8 valve motors were bulletproof! My MG 1100 has 28.000 original miles on it.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #18
bobmunch Bob Muenchausen PC, Oregon, USA 1968 MG MGB GT "Traveler"	Posted: August 19, 2012 08:26PM Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 11,571

Simple answer is no. But it does have an accountable 261K+ miles on it. Engine rebuilt @ 196K, 20K+ O/D tranny installed at about the same time. 68 GT.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
Nietzsche

A PDF copy of The British Leyland Emissions Control Manual may be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dgjgbxszv1h22hy/MG%20EMISSIONS%20MANUAL.pdf

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2012 08:28PM by bobmunch.

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Re: Highest. mileage car on record- does your MG come close #19
NewBRG72B Rodney McLain Greenville SC, USA 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class "The SLK" 2004 Volvo V70 "The Wagon" 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 "The Diesel"	Posted: August 20, 2012 08:31AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 819

There is a 76 MB 240D with 2,852,000 in 2nd place, it is in the MB museum in Stuttgart.

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